Jason Brown, a sensation at the 2014 U.S. Championships who vaulted himself onto the Sochi Olympic team, had a much different experience at the 2018 nationals. He placed sixth and missed the PyeongChang Olympic team.
In the time since, Brown moved from his longtime (and only) coach Kori Ade to Brian Orser in Toronto, Canada, where he now trains alongside world champions Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan and Javier Fernandez of Spain.
Brown opened this season with a fourth place finish at Autumn Classic. On the Grand Prix series, he was sixth at Skate Canada but rebounded for a silver at Grand Prix France (he actually won the short program ahead of Nathan Chen). Then, he won Golden Spin in December.
At his media teleconference ahead of nationals, he noted that his focus is on the big, four-year picture and that his progress has been slow and steady.
Here’s what we learned:
1. The changes he expected in his skating really started clicking after his second Grand Prix assignment.
“The biggest thing when I came to Toronto, they sat me down and talked to me about this 18-month process. Just to feel comfortable, it will take 18 months. I was very open about that and willing for the process of – that understanding that change takes time. I was definitely up for it, up for the challenge and up for whatever the progress looked like. At the beginning it was extremely difficult. I think I did find myself a little frustrated with how slow the progress was coming on or how long it really took me to get comfortable with what I was learning.”
“That being said, I always had that perspective. They were always there to guide me and understood. They’ve done it with skaters in the past and it does take time. I was able to keep a level head through the whole thing and remain confident and really believing in the process. I think that’s what I’m still going through.”
“We work on quality every single day. All my elements and all my skating skills and all the programs. It’s constantly adapting. I’m making these tiny, tiny steps along the way. The thing that we’re most focused on right now is building a very strong base heading into the next four years. That’s really all that I can ask for and all that I’m focused on. That’s where my mentality is wrapped around.”
“I really do think that I hit this turning point in France and things started clicking. I really started to understand their technique. I think it’s just continued to get better from there.”
2. He had a small injury while skating at Golden Spin in early December, but still won the event.
“I sprained my ankle in Croatia. It was a little upsetting but it was what it was. It was small and it was nothing to make a big deal out of. We adjusted my program a little bit and I taped it up. I really didn’t bring any light to it because there’s really no light to be brought to it because it isn’t affecting me and I’m continuing to train the best that I can.”
3. Brown sees momentum building between himself and his new coaching staff, while also building on results from competition to competition.
“I’ve learned and I’ve gotten closer with my coaching team. And understanding the way they’re at in competition, the way that we do the six-minute warmups, our communication has gotten stronger and better. We’ve gotten to know each other a lot better in those situations. That’s a big momentum builder for me. There’s a bit of calmness, like, ‘Okay I’ve done this before’ with them. We have a routine. Early in the season, I was like, ‘I don’t really know what’s gonna happen! How’s it gonna go?’”
“That’s a huge momentum builder because there’s a lot more confidence that I have going in, knowing what to expect. There’s not as many surprises or unknown. That’s really helpful going into big events, being sure the way it’s gonna play out as far as our team as coach and athlete, and the expectations both ways.”
MORE: 3 questions with Bradie Tennell before the U.S. Championships
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